Ride-Sharing is getting a promotion. Starting today, the option will appear as its own dedicated tab inside Google Maps. Here it will sit alongside driving, taking public transportation, and walking.

The ride-sharing tab will attempt to pull up whichever options are available in your area. One example image shows Uber and 99Taxis in Sao Paulo. Google Maps displays the price of each option and how far away, in time, the nearest vehicle is.

Previously Uber information appeared under public transportation, alongside bus and subway routes.

Google says the feature will start rolling out to Android users over the next few days, so if you don't see it yet, hopefully it's only a few minutes away.

Google makes a lot of half baked apps, a lot of apps with tons of not really wanted but semi-useful features , whilst missing basic functionality but maps is not that app (not since they included off line navigation). Maps is googles one killer app, the rest used to be pretty okay but now is bordering crap since their material design updates

andy_o

Maps 7.0 #neverforget

TriguyRN

I don't ride the bus but I don't complain that it's an option in the app...

tim242

Google Maps is for drivers, not riders of public transit. They keep adding stuff to it, that has nothing to do with the intended purpose of the app.

TriguyRN

Says who? Haha

tim242

Said Google, from the inception of the app. I have been using the app since it's beginnings almost 7 years ago.

As have I, and steadily watched it gain more and more valuable public transit tools.

saf1927

We got it, you don't see it useful, it's bloated. Near sighted end-users. You gotta love them. Luckily you don't dictate anything for Google Maps. By the way you are bloating this comment section. Who said so? I did.

What on earth are you talking about? It's been an exceptionally valuable public transit tool for many years now. It's something people flocked to after Apple switched on iOS. Just because YOU don't see it as a public transit app doesn't mean it hasn't become one.

tim242

That was my point. It has become something that it was not intended to be. It has been bloated up.

I couldn't agree less. It is, and always has been, a tool to help you find places and how to get there. THAT is what it's intended to be. Adding additional ways to help you find and get to places is EXACTLY what it's for, and not bloat.

c

Goddamn it! Tim had a vision for the app and those damned Googlers fucked it up!

Rhinopotamus

Google Maps is for map enthusiasts. Turn by turn navigation is unnecessary bloat.

Figuring out how to get from point A to point B has nothing to do with maps?

Maps, throughout history, have contained all sorts of information. Since they were on paper they still indicated bus stop locations, airports, railways, etc. Their purpose then, as now, was to help people find things and get from point A to point B using whatever means made sense. Google Maps is the evolution of that.

It started more limited, leaving off navigation entirely, and slowly gained all the features any reasonable person would expect a Map application, in 2016, to have.

tim242

A reasonable person would expect navigation by Uber and busses to be handled by those companies.

This is where we disagree fully. Especially on the matter of public transit which is an utter mess in many, many places. But most people expect to start with the best map app there is to locate their destination and then go from there. It's only natural to include the next step. Call it bloat all you want, but without that, the entire app becomes far less useful.

smeddy

Agreed. Personally my use goes in this order: Walk, Uber, Public Transport, Drive. Cycling (which I guess is being kicked out) is the only one I've never used.

JG

Just because Google includes it in their Maps app doesn't mean there's anything preventing Uber et al from having their own app as well. And yeah, an individual app could probably provide a lot more service. They would be able to tell, more than Google, if a bus was running late or maybe allow me to purchase a ticket etc.

But personally, I prefer having all of this information in Maps.

First it saves me from having my phone littered with hundreds of apps specific to just one individual city. And if I end up somewhere new I don't have to worry about what that city calls their public transportation... SEPTA or BART or ... let alone try to figure out if they even have a public transportation system in the first place.

Second, I already know how to use Maps. Exploring a new city can be stressful enough we don't necessarily need to add trying to figure out a less than intuitive new app to the mix. Especially if the app programmer is lazy and just gives you a non-interactive picture of the subway map to look at.

It can also save time. One search lets me see an over view at least of various forms of travel. Roughly how long it'll take for me to get from A to B and for how much. Individually, I'd have to repeat the search on each individual app trying to find the cheapest & quickest way. This could be especially useful for Uber & the like who may not even service the area.

Diarmuid Connolly

I don't drive, yet I use Google Maps for public transit and walking every single day.

tim242

I'm glad you find use in the app. But that doesn't change the fact that the app is bloated up with features that most people don't use.

c

Because most people dont walk or use public transit? I had no idea that everyone owns a car.

Diarmuid Connolly

I agree... those traffic updates and turn by turn driving directions are just taking up space for me. They should get rid.

tim242

Those at least have to do with driving...

Diarmuid Connolly

Google maps existed for a long time before the navigation element (originally a separate app) was integrated. You have confused the fact that drivers use maps, with the idea that they are only for drivers.

You also fail to grasp the part Maps plays within the larger Google and android ecosystem. With Marshmallow for example, if I am out for a drink with friends after work (not going to drive home after that), I'll get a notification 15 minutes before the last train home departs. An hour or so later, I'll get another telling me the last bus home is going to leave soon. With this update, I'll have a smooth and convenient link to quickly opt for an uber ride instead.

In fact, by incorporating these features into Maps, I can cut down on separate apps for the local transport system and taxis etc, resulting in less space taken up on my phone.

LethalLunatic

My exact words!

Diarmuid Connolly

Sorry! I clicked reply as soon as I saw Tim's comment without reading further down!

Seems there might be more than just the few of us he seems to think Google are pandering to!

LethalLunatic

Well you can't help it the way this discuss system works. It doesn't exactly have a forum layout. But glad to read you have the same views as I do. :)

c

"Google Maps is for drivers, not riders of public transit."......WTF! Huh?? So the public transit route options are for drivers of public transit?

tim242

Think about that. The public transit drivers have their routes, without the need for Google Maps. Riders just need to refer to transit schedules and their maps. Google Maps replaces paper maps...for drivers. You never saw a Rand McNally for public transit. You probably have no idea what I am talking about...

"Riders just need to refer to transit schedules and their maps".. Or check Google Maps. I really do not see why is that a problem.

It is called Google Maps, not Google Car-gps-direcions. If I want bus routes, train routes, directions to a place and other things on a foreign county, why would I need to request the schedules and directions when I can open one single app and get all that info.

That is very nearsighted of you

Josh Legoza

And Google Search shouldn't be bloated with business phone numbers for local searches. We already have phone books for that!

Maps (and many, many other modern apps and devices) combine many features into one package for convenience. Just because you don't use them all doesn't mean that others don't. I'm sure most people in NYC use Maps quite a bit but rarely drive.

What you're asking for is analogous to wanting the next Nexus to not have a camera because you and many others prefer DSLR cameras. "They're bloating my smart phones! They're not called smart cameras!"

LethalLunatic

Google maps was never for drivers, turn by turn nav has only been added in a far later stage, It's supposed tobe the one hub for everything, searching locations, restaurants, etc etc. In this case it does not hurt to add an additional feature.

tim242

Never for drivers? Are you out of your fucking mind??? What do you think maps are used for????

LethalLunatic

Instead of swearing and acting like a dick I said WAS never for drivers, for driving you need turn by turn navigation which was only released in 2013!

I'm not saying it's not as I use it daily for commuting and traffic information etc.

Google Maps can be used for tons of other things besides driving.

tim242

Drivers have always used maps for driving purposes, whether paper or digital. The Google Maps app is full of crap that has bloated it down. By the way, turn by turn navigation is not a part of the maps app, that is just where you launch it from. It used to have its own icon.

LethalLunatic

A long time ago yes people used to read maps and start driving and stop half way and continue. Same for public transport routes etc. But this was more than 10 years ago and it slowly started to fade as satnav became more compact and affordable. I remember vdo dayton, garmin and tomtom.
At the time of google maps before 2013 there were already other apps which offered turn by turn navigation, tomtom and I think it was called Mcguider from Sygic which I've used.

Turn by turn was not part of the main maps app but now everything is streamlined in the google maps application. Try setting up a route and you'll notice the view changes a bit. in the past it would open the blue arrow that you're talking about. This was also true for street view which is also a part of maps now without the need of the playstore app.

As for me I have always used turn by turn navigation rather than reading it from a map application and start driving by memorizing the turns. for public transport you wouldnt need turn by turn nav.

This guy actually seems to think that maps, as a base concept, exist solely for driving. He's apparently completely unfamiliar with the history of cartography that predates cars by a slight margin.

LethalLunatic

Around the 19th century wayyyy before vehicles were commercialised. So easily a few decades yes!

He's just trying to proof a point that Google maps is uhum "bloated" even though it's actually performing much better than the early days. And they keep optimising it so it performs well. Maybe they can remove the bloat of all the active congestion scanning of traffic. (A driving bloatware later added) giving faster routes depending on traffic. That's extra bloat. Info imported from waze and phone directories of all companies, so you can just search for nearby petrol stations, supermarkets, airport, atm machines. Addresbook that you can just enter someone's name and find him. It's probably best to use a prehistoric system where the roads never change.

Just a few features (bloat as some might call it) that I've mentioned that were there before turn by turn navigation was even added. If you don't want that, use here maps or buy a prehistoric roadmap that predates public transport and a restaurant. It's probably the easiest to have tunnel vision and also be arrogant about it :)

Because we felt the need of mice and some squares rather than just entering text in CLI. Window manager is how old now..

But yes people have become more dumb lately with all the convenience of technology. If you need something or wonder something you just type the search word in Google and you get a load of results from different sources. 20 years ago you had to read a encyclopedia and if you didn't have one find the time to go to the library and read it.

Does anyone still use the yellow pages? I doubt 1% of the people still use it.

"Never for drivers? Are you out of your fucking mind??? What do you think maps are used for????"

You're aware that maps existed for, oh, I'm guessing at least a decade or two (my math may be a little off) before cars were invented, right?

Ryan Johnson

What do you think maps are used for????

Finding out where you are and getting around no matter what mode of transportation you use? Pretty closed-minded of you to assume that Google Maps should only appeal to driving; you're one of the reasons why America can't get rid of their cars and adopt healthier and more eco-friendly ways of transportation.

tim242

The reason we can't get rid of our cars is because public transportation schedules don't click with most people's work schedule. You have to ride around for an hour when you could have driven there faster. Then there's the sprawling cities that make public transit even worse. Most cities in America are not built for public transit to be viable. Deal with it. I love how you apologists praise Google for "useful" bloat, but slam others for it. Nobody is saying that there shouldn't be a transit maps app, but stacking everything but the kitchen sink into an app weighs it down and makes is run slower and slower. I got a Play Music update yesterday. They made it easier for me to search YouTube videos from within that app. WTF?!

We praise Google for adding useful features because they ARE, in fact, useful features. We slam others for bloating apps because they are, in fact, bloating apps. There's no inconsistency, just context.

tim242

"I got a Play Music update yesterday. They made it easier for me to search YouTube videos from within that app. WTF?!"

Yes, lots of people do because YouTube is this generation's primary source of music. It ties in perfectly. And it's super easy to never, ever use it if you don't want it. Has zero notable impact for everyone else while making the app more relevant to the people it does. Win/win.

tim242

Zero notable impact? Play Music is bloated and slow as fuck. You keep making excuses like a battered wife.

Dude, what's wrong with your phone? Play Music works great on mine. And where's your proof that adding the ability to search YouTube is responsible for any of your problems?

blindexecutioner

Yeah for a lot of people it is nothing more than bloat. Honestly, all I see about uber is bad stuff in the news like how the company is horrible to its "workers", the driver's are all rapists and murderers, they gouge during busy times, they are ruining taxi businesses by running essentially the same service but skipping out on the licensing... Etc. The list is quite long.

Some people use it though and area happy with it apparently.

smeddy

Its a brilliant service. We're just seeing (at least, in Sydney Australia) the taxi industry playing dirty PR tactics.

atlouiedog

Yep. Mostly just fear mongering.

Where I live the taxi industry does everything it can to make you fear Uber and Lyft and tell you they aren't safe because their background checks aren't as in depth. Of course Uber's checks are a hard yes or no depending on infractions in someone's record. The body that handles the taxi drivers actually review each case, and in at least one instance, allowed someone they knew was convicted of violent sexual assault to drive a cab.

fv

Yes, hiring rapists and murderers is Uber's official policy. Fortunately, no non-Uber taxi driver is a rapist or murderer. Never heard of a taxi rape/murder before Uber.

Wow, that funny and sad at the same time, considering they started out on WP and eventually ported it over the Android/iOS.

Roh_Mish

It just shows me either uberx or uberGO everytime. (Never saw black as an option in maps.) Not even both. Plus it requires you to have all the apps installed for them to show up..

atlouiedog

The old way they did it would only show UberX here as well, but the new tab shows me X, XL, Select, Black, and maybe more depending on the location. I moved my location around and got different options depending on how far they are.

It's also surfacing surge which is nice.

mark

I don't know about Uber information, Uber adverts more like (since it didn't show information comparable to satnav/public transport and merely advertised the presence; and regular taxi companies aren't advertised in the same way).

If this is showing all companies and not just Uber, this seems more useful - but still a good idea to keep it in a separate tab.

atlouiedog

The tab does use an ad icon.

I assume it'll support taxi companies as they make their apps able to integrate. This article mentions at least one that is. I wouldn't count on it too much. Uber is probably the only reason most taxi companies and cities have requests by app as it is, and they rarely work as well.

When I saw the draft of 5436 dollars, I accept that my friend’s brother was like really generating cash in his free time with his PC. ...gy His aunt's neighbor has done this for only 10 months and by now repaid the loan on their home and bought a new Car .

There is an app in the google play store called Sygic Truck GPS Navigation. You can try it for free for the first 14 days, after that period you will need to pay a license fee in order to use their service.
Google took quite a while before they removed their turn by turn navigation for regular vehicles from "beta" not sure how long it will take to add it for Trucks, maybe if they get a lot of feedback requests they might consider adding the feature.

Otherwise you would need to get a dedicated satnav device like Tomtom (very popular in EU, not sure about other regions) Unfortunately since I am not a truck driver I cannot recommend anything specific.

good luck!

Markus

We don't have ride-sharing here in Australia but we've had cycling as the forth option for quite a while.